Vampir
by JazzyCat
Summary: -Why was I special? Was it just because I'd been stupid enough to wander into the woods at night? Well, maybe I should've thought a little harder. But I wanted a moment alone. Not with a vampire.- NejiTen. T for language and content.
1. Lost

**A/N: My shiny new NejiTen~! This is loosely based off of a book that I read called Sunshine. Maybe you've heard of it? Well, it's really god. And the characters reminded me so much of Neji and Tenten that I had to write this. It all worked out, thouh, because I needed something to use this title on, lol. Please enjoy.

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** _It was hard to breath. I wanted to think clearly, and to do that I needed to escape._

I wanted a moment alone, and I got the exact opposite. I wasn't even alone anymore in the break room at work. It was the size of a broom closet, barely big enough to stand in. I often took my coffee in there and just tried to relax, but then the door would open and someone would be looking for me. Sometimes they would knock my hands with the door and I would get coffee down my front.

For this reason I always have a spare shirt.

But I couldn't get a goddamn moment alone, not with my mother looking for me all the time (she was a bit overprotective, and by a bit, I mean ridiculously) and my boss looking for me because one of the customers wanted a special order, and then my boyfriend was sneaking a few minutes with me every once in a while as well. So I was constantly surrounded by people.

People I loved, but nonetheless people that I needed to get away from. I felt like I was suffocating.

So that night, after my shift, I grabbed my stuff, clocked out, turned down the many invitations to go out to dinner or another coffee (one was more than enough for the day) and headed out to my bike.

I pulled my jacket on over my flour-covered t-shirt and pulled my hair back into two tight buns, one on either side of my head. I shot one last look at the bakery that I'd worked at for almost four years now, and then kicked off and started pedaling.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

I had a good life. Nothing much to complain about. I had a family, though I didn't know who my dad was or why he'd left. Or at least that's what my mother said. He could be dead and she might have been trying to spare my feelings.

And speaking of my mother, the woman is…I don't even know how to describe her. Insane. Eccentric. Loveable. Pure evil.

She's just very overprotective, and controlling. She's still trying to control my life, even though I moved out when I was fifteen. I've been living on my own for almost a year now and she's in and out of my house like she owns the damn place. And it's not that I don't love her, but that's probably the main contributor to my needing to be alone.

And she doesn't approve of my boyfriend. But I don't care what she thinks. I think Fudo is awesome, sweet, considerate… and he knows when to leave me the hell alone, which is more than I can say for my own blood relatives.

So, my mother married the owner of the bakery I worked at. That was the sole reason I worked there; I'd been able to get a job when I was twelve because it was family-owned. So my boss was also my step-father. His name was Dai. And he was cool.

He had a secret, knowing smile when my mother's back was turned, like we shared an inside joke, but I didn't know if we did. Maybe.

But anyway, my point is that he's a cool guy, and he also knows when to give me my space.

This entire train of thought led me to believe that not only was my mother the main contributor to my suffocation, but the only contributor.

But I'd never tell her that. Instead, I just planned a night to myself. On the ride home I was thinking about making myself a nice pan of brownies, and eating them hot after dinner with some ice cream and then watching a movie and maybe taking a bubble bath. I would unplug the phone, turn off the computer, cut myself off from the world and just relax.

And of course, I couldn't stick to my plan. Because I hadn't been paying attention to where I was steering, I was lost in a matter of minutes. I'd been in such a rush to get away from work, I had probably gone the wrong way. Now I was riding past a forest on my left, just past a little stretch of grass and a dirt path. It looked like the edge of a park bordering alone the woods.

And it was the dirt path that got me.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

_I didn't hear them coming…but then again, you don't when they're vampires. _

Curiosity got the best of me—it usually did—and I braked and looked at the forest. The trees were dark, and strangely inviting. The path was straight, even, and I wanted so much to feel that under my tires as I coasted along.

I gripped the handlebars tightly and turned before pedaling again, gently. I slipped off the curb and onto the dirt. The occasional stone was the only thing that disrupted my perfect ride.

I don't remember when I started, but I always carried a knife with me. It had been a birthday gift from Dai one year and for a while it had kept its home in my underwear drawer, alongside the pepper spray my mother gave me when I started dating. I never thought I would ever have a reason to use either, so there they stayed. And then one day I took it out from under the lacey pink bra with the itchy straps that I hated and tucked it into my pocket. Maybe I had been feeling scared that day or something, but after that day, I never went anywhere without it.

Not that it did me any good right then.

I weaved between trees, enjoying the pine-scented air of the coniferous forest, and not watching where I was going. I hit a rock and I flipped up over the handlebars, landing square on my back. My bike tipped and rolled, landing on it's side a few feet away, the front wheel off the ground, still spinning.

Ow.

I got up immediately and checked for any blood or broken skin. I didn't find any, but one could never be too careful—something I'd learned from my mother—in a world where vampires were roaming free. She'd told me that the only reason _we_ were the dominant species of the planet instead of _them_ is because we don't have an aversion to sunlight. In fact, I love sunlight. Vitamin D. Yum.

So, I was just a little dirty and bruised, nothing serious, but my butt was starting to ache where I landed on it. The pain was travelling up my lower back. I went to assess the damage to my bike and found that the back wheel was bent beyond any repairs that I could do right then. I couldn't even wheel it home; it wouldn't go straight.

I leaned it up against a tree and tried to think of what to do, bitterly realizing that hey, I was getting my time alone. Just not how I wanted.

I decided to leave the bike there and have one of the guys help me bring it home later. If it was gone when I got back, then it was gone. Oh well. I needed a new one anyway.

I fixed my hair—it was falling in my eyes—straightened my clothes, not realizing right then that the sleeve of my jacket was almost ripped right off, and tried to figure out which way I'd come from. The fall had me all turned around.

And I was lost. "Fuck," I whispered. Normally I wasn't one to swear, but the situation almost called for it, so I allowed myself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." I pushed my bangs off my forehead and tried to see the city lights through the trees. No such luck.

It was about time for me to go "eeny meeny miney mo." Instead, I closed my eyes, turned around three or four times, and pointed. When I opened my eyes, I went in the direction my finger was showing. I ignored the fact that that direction happened to be the one that looked the most dark and evil. I wouldn't let myself think about that. I just wanted to go home.

I started off. The ground here was damper than I was used to, and my sneakers were caked with mud after a few minutes of walking. My feet were heavy, as were my eyelids, and I was getting cold. My hands stung. I'd skinned them a little getting up from the fall—not enough to draw blood, but still enough to hurt.

I. Was. Tired.

So tired. I had no idea where this sudden fatigue had come from, since I'd been fine when I'd left the bakery. I pressed my fingers to my head. I was getting dizzy. I thought it would be okay to sit down for a minute and catch my breath, maybe stretch across the first flat, dry rock I could find and spend the night, try to find my way out in the daylight.

Part of it was because I was so out of it. The other part was that they were, after all, vampires. But I never heard them, nor saw them coming. I was already half asleep.

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**A/N: Working on the next chapter. Please tell me what you think. And before you ask me, I don't know if I'm going to put a lemon scene in there. xD**


	2. Found

**A/N: This chapter's longer than the last! Yay!  


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When I woke up, I saw light. For a split second, I was excited and relieved. Light made me think "daytime", which made me think I was safe. But it was not so. I saw that as soon as I sat up.

"So she's awake?" The voice that spoke had an odd sound to it. I knew instantly it was not human. And I knew right after that it was a vampire's voice. There was no doubt in my mind. My groggy, still half-asleep mind. I was trying to keep myself steady.

There were four of them gathered around a fire. At least, four that I saw. There might have been more hiding or scouting, or hunting. That word made my throat close up and suddenly I was wide awake. Did they intend to make me their dinner? I may have whimpered.

One of them laughed. "Calm down," he said, not sounding like he cared if I did or not. "We won't eat you." I couldn't believe them of course. And they didn't expect me to. But they knew that I knew that any attempts at escape were useless, and would probably end painfully. That is, if they really weren't planning to eat me.

"No, you're not going to be food for _us_." He stood and walked toward me. He crouched a few feet in front of me and leaned in so that our faces were inches apart. His breath spelled terrible. Like metal. My breath hitched in my throat. "We've got other plans for you. Got to dress you up pretty and make you look nice. _You're_ going to be a gift." He had a huge smile on his face. It looked too sweet to be real.

"A gift for who?" I managed to stammer out. My mouth was dry so it took me a few tries. The vampire didn't answer me. He screwed his face into an unpleasant expression and stood. He walked back to the fire and ignored me. The other three that I could see were still laughing and talking. If I hadn't known what they were, I might have mistaken them for regular humans.

But their movements were too graceful, their voices too strange, and their laughter too melodic. Their gazes sent shivers down my spine, and my muscles seized up. I had to concentrate all my energy on relaxing.

The strange thing was, I knew I was going to die. There was no doubt about that. It was certain, concrete, solid. And although I knew, and I couldn't avoid it, I wasn't sad. Everyone in books and movies always screams and cries, but I felt like this was something trivial. Like I'd dropped my quarter down the drain. _Ah well_, I thought. _That's too bad_. Too bad. Just too bad.

I don't know how long I was there, but I stayed silent. I just watched, trying to be observant as they talked and joked around. It seemed as though they were waiting.

I had a few theories. For example, they were waiting for my fear to set in. Maybe they liked the taste of blood full of fear. I swallowed hard and tried not to picture them sucking out my life. Another theory was that they were waiting until the clouds moved out of the way of the moon.

They were really pathetic attempts at trying to take control of my fate again. I thought that if I applied logic, then maybe I could see what was going on, then maybe I could somehow stop it from happening. I knew very little about vampires. My mother only ever told me the basics; they suck blood, can't go out in the sun, they're pale and cold and they don't have a heartbeat. She told me I'd know one when I saw one. She was right.

Here they were in front of me and I found myself still absolutely perplexed that I wasn't afraid. Well, of course I was afraid. But I had never been a very brave person. I should've been screaming. Sobbing. Begging. They noticed it too.

"Shouldn't you be begging for your life?" One said, tilting his face toward me. "Don't they usually by now?" he asked the others. They agreed. I swallowed again, but stayed quiet. Maybe if I played dub they'd let me go.

"Well, maybe there's something wrong with her."

"She _was_ out in the forest alone at night. Maybe she's retarded."

"Or has a death wish."

"Either way," the one who'd been ignoring me said. "Her blood is fine. Blood taste isn't affected by things like that." They all agreed. One turned his face to the sky now.

"It's nearly time. We should get moving."

"Where's the dress?" Something was pulled out from a bag that one of the vampires had. It was dark and shapeless, but I presumed it was the dress they'd mentioned. The one who ignored me—I pictured him as the leader—took it from his comrade and walked briskly toward me. He dropped the garment onto my lap. "Put it on."

I knew better than to argue. I turned around and took off my torn-up jacket and t-shirt. I slipped the dress over my head before taking off my jeans underneath it. My shoes looked wrong—sneakers with a gown? And covered in mud?—so I left them with my other clothes in a pile. I turned around and they'd already put out the fire and were packing up whatever they'd brought with them.

They all seemed preoccupied, and my brain screamed at me. _RUN!_ This was a chance. They weren't looking. I underestimated them again, forgetting their super-hearing abilities, thinking for a moment that they were human. I picked up the hem of the dress—it fell to my ankles—and tried to creep away. I made it halfway around the tree closest to me before they were upon me.

"I don't think so," one said, grabbing my upper arm. He nodded to another and then both my arms were held. My legs started to shake. They were strong enough to hold me up easily, as if I weighed no more than a wet towel. They started to walk, half-dragging me behind them.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

The woods were quiet. I hadn't noticed before. The air was cold without my jacket, and the only sounds I heard were those that I made, and the wound of the wind in the trees. The vampires escorting me made no sound at all. Not even their feet on the ground could be heard. I felt like a clumsy, bumbling idiot.

Soon I was gasping for breath. My feet seemed to have found every sharp stone in the area and my feet were bleeding. I wished I'd kept my shoes. My escort didn't seem to mind letting me set the pace. Not once did they try to rush or hurry me. They went as slow as I did, and I knew they didn't have to. They could oh-so-easily throw me over their shoulders and run faster than a car. But they didn't, and I was strangely grateful for that.

The hands on my arms—it had taken me a while to notice, since I was a little preoccupied by the pain in my legs—were gloved. I tried not to think of bitterly stupid jokes about "not wanting to play with other people's food," but before I could stop it, it happened. My mother always told me I had my father's sense of humor, and, according to her, that was nothing to be proud of. It was the only thing I'd ever heard her say about my father.

The gloves were the only things keeping their cold, pale skin from touching mine. I'd heard stories that the slightest touch of warm flesh—especially, in old folklore, that of a young woman—could have them bloodthirsty and insane. I thanked the angels for gloves; the only thing that had kept me alive thus far.

We'd walked for what seemed like miles, and I worked up a little bit of courage. I opened my mouth. "Where are you taking me?"

None of them answered me. I felt any hope I had curl up in the pit of my stomach and die. That was about it for me. With the prospect of pain and death in my future, I'd all but lost my will to live at all. My shoulders—had they not been supported by the vampires to my left and right—would have slumped. My neck was weak and my head bobbled forward. Tears sprang up, hot, in my eyes. I choked back a sob.

I thought of my mother. How the last time I'd seen her, I was running away from her. If I had the chance, I'd run into her open arms and be her little baby again. I'd move back in, let her control me, I'd sit back and let her be in charge. I wouldn't mind that right now.

They were starting to get urgent. When my feet fumbled, they picked me up a little more hastily and frog-marched me. I could see why. In front of us was a huge shadow. A house. No, a mansion. Judging by the broken glass, missing shingles, and shutters in a state beyond repair, I guessed it was abandoned.

The cool grass of the lawn was a relief to my toes after the jagged terrain I'd just been on. I wanted to drop down and curl up on the softness, let it overtake me, rather than becoming nourishment for a blood-sucking beast. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed, my body going limp as I did. I heard one of them swear and I was lifted into someone's arms. They were cold and hard, and not at all like romance novels describe being carried. Of course, in books it's always in the arms of a loved one.

We were at the doors much too fast. They were opened, we moved in, and they were closed. I only got the barest glimpse of the front hall through my hair and half-closed lids. I saw yellowing walls and a winding staircase. A mirror hung on one wall. I opened my eyes at my reflection.

I was…pretty. I knew that wasn't the time to think about that, but the dress they'd given me was flattering. It had a wide skirt and a tight bodice, with tiny, straight seams that made the dress look clean-cut and gorgeous. The only thing I didn't like was the color; blood red.

We headed for the stairs. The four vampires I'd seen before were joined by two more. And then four more. And then even more were at the doors at the end of the hall. We climbed the stairs—I couldn't feel it happening, the motion was so fluid—and headed to a set of double doors. When they opened, I was set on the ground in the far corner. Before I could even register what was going on, I had a shackle closed on my ankle. I blinked.

"Wh-what…"

"We said you were going to be dinner, girlie. And you will be." One cooed. The others laughed and my face burned hot with embarrassment. "Now just sit tight and if you don't move, it might not hurt as much." More laughter. I shivered in fear. The group was moving. They were retreating to the door and then they were gone. And I was alone.

The moonlight was gone for a second. The clouds moved in front of it. The light came back and I took the time to observe my surroundings.

It appeared to be a ballroom. There was no furniture, and it was a vast, open floor with windows on only one side of the room, leading to what I presumed to be a balcony. There was a coil of chain next to me connected to the wall on one end and the shackle around my leg on the other. The length of chain was just enough that I could reach that balcony.

But I had no energy. I sank against the wall as the moonlight disappeared again. I was thankful for the darkness. I wanted to sleep. Maybe I would sleep through being eaten as well.

The light filled the room again. I furrowed my brow and opened my eyes, gasping at what I saw.

I'd assumed I was alone. I was wrong. Not twenty feet away from me—while I was chained in the corner, he was toward the middle of the wall—sat another person. The silhouette implied male. Another prisoner?

No. His head turned to me and the movement was too graceful. Vampire. My predator. I gulped, and anticipated death.

But he did not move. He seemed to study me, and I him. He turned his head away as if disinterested. I was relieved, but admittedly curious. Until I saw his shackle. I might have been his prey, but he was no less a prisoner than I was.

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**A/N: Bedtime, it's nearly 4 a.m. :) Please review!  
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	3. Him

**A/N: Another new chapter! Sorry it's been a while, but our school super-holiday-charity-event was on Friday and the planning and execution takes a long time and a lot of energy. That and I had four tests last week as well as a history presentation to do. But all that's over and I can continue to update for you guys.  


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I was staring.

So was he.

I avoided his eyes—something I'd learned from children's books dealing with vampires—and instead focused on the rest of his face. He was an attractive man. Differently attractive, but good-looking nonetheless. I took note of the pale skin and long, brown hair—a deep chestnut, much like my own. I also noticed that he was thin. He looked half-starved, but thinking of that only sent shivers down my spine (thinking about _what_ they eat). I broke the gaze and stared at the floor, panting with fear again.

Because I knew I was going to die.

This was the vampire I was to be fed to.

I didn't understand why they had another of their kind prisoner—personal vendetta?—but not only was it not my business, but I probably wouldn't live long enough to find out.

I curled my feet up under the hem of my dress. The skirt was poofed out with the air trapped underneath it, and served quite well in keeping my legs warm, despite my lack of footwear. I was also hoping to mask the scent of the blood on them.

I closed my eyes, anticipating a sharp prick on the side of my neck, or to be torn apart mercilessly, and so quickly that I wouldn't feel it, but nothing happened. No pain came. Just goose bumps from the open window letting in chilly air. I cracked one of my eyes open.

He was still sitting there, half a room away, not moving. Now he was staring at the floor, though. Was he waiting? What was he waiting for? Did he…not drink blood? Was that possible?

"Uh…um…" I stammered. Not the best beginning to a conversation. "Wh-what's your name?" His head snapped up and he looked at me again, something in his eyes burning like fire.

"You know enough not to look into my eyes, but you still ask me my _name_?" He practically spat his words, and I realized my mistake. Names held power. That was something I knew. It was one of the first things children learn about dealing with other-worldly creatures. Avoid telling them your name.

However, vampires, on the other hand, are different. They have the power of persuasion behind them. Look into their eyes and you've fallen under their spell. They can't do anything to you—take anything from you—without you asking them to. But if they want you to ask, you'll probably end up asking anyway.

"R-right. Sorry." I curled my legs and lifted my knees, hugging them to my chest and resting my chin on them. "It's…kinda hard to think when you're about scared out of your wits."

He seemed to regard me for another moment, and I hoped I wasn't blushing under his gaze. I stared at the spot on my skirt that moved when I wiggled my toes.

"You need not be afraid of me," he said. "I will not eat you."

"No offense," I told him, feeling a little energy come back. "But that doesn't really make me feel any better."

"Understandable." He was quiet again. The silence was the kind normally filled with the drip of a faucet or the ticking of a clock. But there was no such noise, and the resulting silence was deafening. I felt a twitchy need to say something. So I opened my mouth.

"Why did they bring me here?" I asked, and instantly felt stupid. He only raised an eyebrow at me—the moonlight was right on his face at that moment, and I could see his expression clearly.

"I would think that had already been made clear to you."

"Well, yes, but…I mean, if you're not going to… then what is to be done with me? I mean, will one of them…?"

"Probably not. They want me to eat you. They will leave you there until I do." I swallowed, hard, and held back my tears. "But I will not. I refuse to lose this waiting game." I did start crying then. If I didn't die because I was eaten by a vampire, then it would be starvation, or boredom. I'd never see my family, my mother, my boyfriend, ever again. And I was only being spared long enough to die in the ballroom of an abandoned mansion because the vampire I was chained up with was too childish to eat me. It was laughable.

And yet I was sobbing.

I used the cloth around my knees to dab my eyes dry, but my face was covered in tears again within moments. When I looked up—my dress was too soaked to use anymore—he was suddenly there. I bit back a scream and pressed myself against the wall behind me. The vampire held out a hand under my chin and caught the falling drips. I watched him, and when his palm was full of my tears, he moved back a bit. "May I…have your tears?" he asked. I nodded, not seeing a reason to deny him. In one swift movement he put his hand to his lips and tilted his head back. He licked his lips when he was done. I chanced a look into his eyes, noticing that they were pale white. I might have gasped, but he ignored it if I did. "Thank you. They're not quite as satisfying as…" he seemed to be rethinking his choice of words, "but better than nothing. And I haven't eaten in a while."

"Yeah…I was wondering why you looked so skinny. I'm sorry." He looked at me incredulously, and moved back to his original position, far away from me.

Everyone I knew had often told me I was nice—a kind person, etc.—but I think I was beginning to see what they were talking about. I was seriously considering dying. Just so this man could have a drink. I didn't know him. I didn't like his kind. But seeing him half-starved with food inches before him that he refused to eat…tore at my heart. It was as if he was being nice to me, and I wanted to return the favor. I raised my arm, palm up, wrist exposed, as if I was about to offer him the life ebbing through my veins. He watched me as I lifted it, and let it drop back to my side.

I leaned my head against the wall. It was beginning to hurt. I wanted an aspirin. I wanted water. I wanted sleep.

But the sky was still dark. The vampire in the room was still dangerous. I refused to close my eyes. I would sleep when the sun came out. I would curl up in the first ray of sunshine I saw and soak up all the vitamin D I could handle—it had to last me through the night—so that I was strong enough to care.

Care what happened to me. Care if I was missed back home. Care if they decided to try and find me and got hurt in the process.

But I was just so damn tired… My lids were heavy, or magnetic to each other.

"Sleep," the vampire told me. "I will not harm you this night." As if to prove his point, he got up and went to a bag I hadn't seen before. It had been hidden in the shadows. From it he pulled a bottle of water—which he rolled across the floor to me—that I opened immediately and drank half of, a loaf of bread that I tore into chunks and shoved in my mouth (thought I didn't like the texture much at all. My bread was better), and he pulled out a blanket. By that time I'd already hit the floor, to exhausted to move. He came close enough to place the blanket over me, and then retreated as far as his chain would allow. "It would appear they left food for you," he said. Thank you Captain Obvious.

But I didn't blame him. The silence was probably agonizing, especially in solitude. I couldn't stay awake any longer.

My eyes closed, enveloping me in blackness.

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**A/N: Bedtime, it's nearly 3 am. Please review, and tell me if you want more! And read my other NejiTen stories! Or all of my stories! :D  
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